Inside The Bills

NFL.com has put together their final NFL power rankings and not surprisingly, the Seahawks reign supreme. The Bills, who are coming off a 6-10 season, did not excited the so called experts, but they did paint a positive outlook for the club moving forward.

23 – BILLSBuffalo should be in an excellent salary-cap situation, meaning it can fill several small holes at linebacker, on the offensive line and in the secondary, and figure out what to do with Jairus Byrd. Coach Doug Marrone has so much young talent; it will be up to his staff to develop it. Drafting another ‘backer would be pleasant, too.

We can all take the widespread NFL Power Rankings for what they’re worth, which is nothing more than someone’s opinion on which teams are better than others. What happens on the field obviously matters a whole lot more. In any event the Bills are slowly working their way up the rankings boards in the following national postings.

NFL.com, Elliot Harrison – No. 21, up fiveOK, who would have thought coming into the year that Buffalo could have beaten the Dolphins inMiami with Thad Lewis at quarterback and C.J. Spiller gaining 7 — 7! — yards? The Bills make things painfully exciting every week, and though the networks don’t air their games, they’re becoming a can’t-miss matchup.

CBS Sports, Pete Prisco – No. 24, up fourThat was an impressive victory at Miami. The defense made some big plays. Thad Lewis got his first victory because of it.

CBS Sports, Pat Kirwan – No. 23My hat’s off to Doug Marrone for playingThad Lewiswhen he lostEJ Manuel. That being said, the Bills need Manuel back to go anywhere.

Bleacher Report – No. 20, up twoThe legend of Thad Lewis grows following a Week 7 win over the Miami Dolphins, but the real story here is the Buffalo Bills defense.

Led by well-known players like Mario Williams, Kyle Williams and Marcell Dareus, the Bills defense isn’t quite a no-name group. That said, the key playmakers have been rookies Kiko Alonso and Nickell Robey, two players very few people outside the Pac-12 thought of this time last year.

First-year head coach Doug Marrone has done a remarkable job getting this team ready to play each week no matter who the quarterback is or how much experience he has. Marrone is proving himself to be a top-tier game-planner, and the Bills are reaping the benefits.

FOX Sports, Brian Billick – No. 16, up sixThaddeus Lewis earned his first win as a starter in the NFL, but the game ball should go to the defense who forced three turnovers, one of which was returned for a touchdown.

Yahoo Sports, Frank Schwab – No. 22, up fiveQuarterback Thad Lewis has now played two good games in a row. EJ Manuel will get his job back when he returns (right?), but Lewis could make things really interesting.

SB Nation, Ryan Van Bibber – No. 21The Bills were once so desperate for a second quarterback that they signed Kevin Kolb. And they signedMatt Flynnlast week. But there was Thad Lewis all along. In Miami, he kept the ball moving and it kept his team in control of the game, enough for the defense andDan Carpenterto do the rest of the work. Now they have to do it against the Saints and Chiefs over the next two weeks.

Former NFL head coach and FOXSports.com’s Brian Billick has released his power ranking for Week 3 and the Bills moved up two spots on his list.

Billick has the Bills ranked 21st in the league up two places from 23rd last week. Here’s what he wrote.

21 – Bills – Record: 1-1 – High/low: 18/23

The injury to Fred Jackson may have been the best thing that ever happened to this team. C.J. Spiller now leads the league in rushing and is averaging over 10 yards per carry. After getting zero sacks against the Jets, the Bills defensive line totaled f

The injury to Fred Jackson may have been the best thing that ever happened to this team. C.J. Spiller now leads the league in rushing and is averaging over 10 yards per carry. After getting zero sacks against the Jets, the Bills defensive line totaled five last weekend. That is more like it.